


Setting the Scales

by TheEvilAuthoress



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! ARC-V
Genre: Canon - Manga, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-10-20
Updated: 2016-10-31
Packaged: 2018-08-23 16:23:32
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,136
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8334307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEvilAuthoress/pseuds/TheEvilAuthoress
Summary: “We did this to protect Yuya!”She understands, but she can’t bring herself to agree with their decision.(Neither would Yuya if he could remember.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Just some abstract speculation presented through the eyes of a nameless party. Manga-verse.

**i.**

Yuya dreams.

He dreams of a long narrow road through an ever changing expanse. He dreams of three boy who share his face. In his dreams they smile, they laugh, they fight, and they can touch. In his dreams they are four - not four in one - four boys, four bodies, four--

Yuya wakes.

\--something...?

He cannot remember what he dreamed.

 

**ii.**

She watches.

She watches him smile, laugh, pout, and talk animatedly to the air around him.

She wishes she could see.

She wishes she could see them the way he does, talk to them the way he does instead of through him. Conversations are awkward, either punctuated by random face changes or the empty spaces before Yuya relays his counterparts’ opinions.

They weren’t always counterparts.

_“We did this to protect Yuya!”_

She understands, but she can't bring herself to agree with their decision.

(Neither would Yuya if he could remember.)

 

**iii.**

Yuya sleeps with his hood drawn over his head. Quietly, she sits on the edge of the couch and threads her fingers through red and green hair.

“Yuri,” she calls softly, hoping he'll hear.

Yuri will be honest with her - he’s always been brutally honest - even when he tries to downplay his own emotional involvement. Red fades into pink under her fingers and Yuri sits up, pushes the hood down, and looks to her expectantly.

“Why does Yuya have to forget?”

Yuri’s lips form a thin line, refusing to meet her eyes.

“Yuri.”

“I don’t want him to,” he admits. “Yugo does.”

“They why?”

A sigh. Purple eyes meet hers as he speaks with utter sincerity and finality. “We promised to protect him. If this is Yugo’s wish, then I won’t interfere.”

She intends to protest, but pink blooms back into red before she can form the words and startled red eyes blink up at her.

“Oh,” Yuya appears momentarily confused but offers her that lopsided grin all the same. “Were you talking to one of the others?”

“It’s okay,” she ruffles his hair and stands. “Go back to sleep.”

Next time she’ll talk to Yugo.

 

**iv.**

Yugo is stubborn, and Yuri is unwaveringly loyal. It’s a deadly combination. Yuri may possess the most rational of the two, but once he decides to follow Yugo’s lead, he won’t budge an inch. So she’ll have to go straight through Yugo for any chance to change either’s mind. And that won’t be easy.

“No,” Yugo shakes his head firmly. “Yuya doesn’t need to remember us.”

“Don’t you think you should consult Yuya about this?” She reminds herself to be patient. Yugo will react the worse to a perceived threat. “They are his memories after all.”

“I won’t see Yuya cry again.” Determination blazes in blue irises. “I won’t let him feel that pain.”

The silence stretches between them as they stare at each other.

An exhale. “Or maybe you’re the one who wants to forget.”

Something sparks behind the blue - anger, denial, pain? - but they’re gone in flash, replace by red. “What?” Yuya blinks in confusion.

“It’s nothing,” she sighs and turns away. “Yugo’s just being stubborn.”

“Ah, yeah, he’s like that,” Yuya smiles, but it’s hollow, the mere shell of smile lost and forgotten.

She hates it.

 

**v.**

“We all have things we want to forget.”

Startled, she turns to the voice and meets calm gray eyes. Yuto, but she didn’t call for him.

“And that’s why we should remember them,” she counters after a moment. The other two must be distracting Yuya so they can have this conversation.

Yuto’s eyes look sad as he glances over to the computer. “Maybe. But we have bigger problems than Yuya’s memory.”

Her eyes follow his, watching the giant screen as it collects and analyzes data from all over the city. “G.O.D.”

“Genesis Omega Dragon,” Yuto nods.

 _Does Yuya even remember why we’re looking for it?_ she wonders. “After we find it, will you let him remember?”

Clear gray eyes regard her for a long moment. “I’ll talk to Yugo and Yuri about it.”

Yuto’s image fades and Yuya blinks up at the computer screen, smiles, stretches, and announces that he’s going on a stroll. She follows to keep him out of trouble.

Despite the conversation, she cannot bring herself to believe that she accomplished anything.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There’s more of this if anyone is interested. Please let me know your thoughts. I live to discuss headcanons with people. =D


	2. Chapter 2

**vi.**

She emerges, coughing, desperate to fill her lungs with fresh air. Where is she? A cave? Her hand brushes against a wall of rough dirt and stone.

 _Are they okay?!_ Panic suddenly floods her system, eyes darting around the dark space. They land on the second capsule with a swell of relief, and she jogs the short distance over the uneven ground.

Only one boy emerges.

Red eyes blink up at her, confused and disoriented. “Er… who--”

“Where are the others?” she doesn’t let him finish. There aren’t any other capsules.

“Others?”

Something dark and cold settles within her, but she won’t let herself acknowledge it.

Yuya glances to his side with an odd expression, then nods at the air as red eyes fall closed. Colors alternate before her eyes, muting into a duller monotone, and gray eyes open to greet her.

“We’re right here,” Yuya speaks with Yuto’s lips and Yuto’s voice-- and colors alternate again. Black and purple blossom into the shades of a beautiful tropical flower, and Yuri gives her his trademark smirk. Complementary pinks give way to bright contrast and blue eyes now stare back at her.

“We did this to protect Yuya,” Yugo announces, jaw set in that firm line that always meant he wouldn’t listen to reason. “Don’t tell him, alright? He doesn’t remember.”

She starts to protest but the bright blues and yellows morph before her eyes, blending into red and green. Again, Yuya glances to the side as if listening to a voice that she can’t hear. “Oh, so that’s how it is!” he smiles and turns back to her. “Um, sorry, but it’s all a bit fuzzy. Could you remind me your name?”

 _‘Did this to protect Yuya’...?_ She stares at him - them - in abject horror. _‘This’ what? You idiots, what did you_ do _...?_

Warm pricks at her eyes, but she pushes it aside. “It’s okay, Yuya. It’ll come back to you eventually,” she forces a smile and it feels so _fake_ , but Yuya beams back, that adorable, annoyingly oblivious boy.

Some things shouldn’t be forgotten.

 

**vii.**

Yuya talks sometimes like she doesn’t know the other three, reacts like she _shouldn’t_ know about their personalities or quirks. It makes sense, in a frustrating sort of way. He remembers her from before, but as far as Yuya’s concerned ‘Yuto,’ ‘Yugo,’ and ‘Yuri’ have never been anything more than his other selves. How could she know them as well as he does?

“I’ve known you for a long time,” she reminds him and bites her lip as she glares into empty space.

Any time she tries to bring up the past, either Yuya reacts like someone is suddenly screaming in his ear or she’s met by fierce blue eyes. Sometimes she wishes she could take one of the others and throttle them, but Yuya would ultimately suffer the aftermath. So she bites her tongue and stays quiet, and sometimes throws a glare over Yuya’s head. Maybe one of them will get the message.

Yuya deserves to know.

 

**viii.**

“You’re lying to me, aren’t you!”

She halts at the sudden exclamation.

“No! Either tell me the truth or leave me alone!”

Footsteps echo loudly off the floor. The door bangs open and Yuya streaks past, futilely running from something he can’t escape.

She finds him by the river bank, hood pulled up and knees to his chest. Red eyes glance up as she approaches but flick away just as quickly. “Are you lying to me too?”

“You should have expected this.”

Yuya reacts with confusion, but she wasn’t addressing him. He may have told them to leave, but even if they did she knows they can still hear her. They always hear her no matter how far into Yuya’s subconscious they hide. Her suspicions are confirmed when Yuya scowls at the space above him and turns angrily away.

“Why should I?” he mutters darkly into his knees.

In the angry silence that follows, she prepares to tell him the truth herself; but a moment later he stands and pulls the hood down and Yuto’s gray eyes peer out at the world. She meets his gaze expectantly, feeling no need to repeat herself.

“I know,” Yuto sighs, and he looks tired, almost defeated.

“Have you talked to the others?”

The thin line of Yuto’s lips looks much like poorly concealed grimace as he hesitates and then glares at the space next to him. “I didn’t ask you.” He promptly turns his attention back to her. “Yes.”

She waits in silence; she shouldn’t need to put voice to an obvious question.

“It’s time to tell Yuya.”

*

“No! NO!” Yugo shouts, anger springing to life in his eyes.

Yuya remains silent where he stands, deeming it either unnecessary or futile to ask questions. Given the implications of the later, Yuto rather hopes the former.

“We knew we couldn’t keep it from him forever,” Yuto rationalizes, voice calmer than he feels. “Yuya deserves to know.”

“But--!” Yugo surges forward and Yuri placates him with a hand to his arm. Tears have collected in Yugo’s blue eyes and Yuto can tell that he’s terrified.

“Yuri, take Yuya. Yugo and I will stay here.”

“What?! No! I’m going w--”

“Yugo!” Yuto snaps, and the other boy wilts as Yuri moves from his side to Yuya’s and places his hand on the oddly silent boy’s arm. Yuto half expects some snarky comment, but none comes. Even Yuri understands the gravity of the situation. No, especially Yuri. The two disappear and Yugo breaks into a full blown tantrum.

Letting out a long suffering sigh, Yuto turns his full attention back to the girl in front of him. The expression she wears is not quite a smile but an understanding sympathy and more honest than any of the smiles she’s given Yuya since they crashed in this era. “You can leave him to me if you want.”

Glancing at Yugo again, Yuto almost declines the offer.

“You should be with Yuya too.”

They all should be, but Yuto fears that Yugo would cause more harm than good right now. With a shrug, Yuto concedes control of the body, leaving Yugo to take the reigns.

*

Yugo sinks into the grass almost before his colors have settled, shoulders trembling. “Damnit!” he curses, voice wavering, and punches the grass.

She sinks to her knees next to him and places her hand gently on his shoulder. Tears spill freely down his face, shuddering breath punctuated with soft hiccups. Yugo always was the most emotional.

“Why did-- I just--” He clutches at his face with a gloved hand, eyes squeezing shut. “--wanted to protect him!”

“I know,” she murmurs, wraps her arms around him, pulls him against her, and lets him cry.

She shudders to think how Yuya will react when he returns.

*

She doesn’t get any warning. After Yugo cried himself out and fell asleep, he faded back into Yuya’s subconscious, leaving an unconscious mop of red and green hair on her shoulder. Yuya stirs, lifting his head as red eyes open. Tears cling to his lashes, but she can’t tell in they’re remnants of Yugo’s or his own. Yuya blinks once, staring at nothing, and then heaves a shuddering breath as his fingers curl into the grass.

“Why…? Why did they do this…?” he asks desperately, voice cracking. “Why didn’t they tell me…?”

There are many things she could say to answer, but none of them are her answers to give. Instead she pulls Yuya into her arms just as she did for Yugo. The initial resistance feels more reflexive than anything and Yuya lets himself rest against her. “Why didn’t _you_ tell me...?”

She thinks of the lost boy who greeted her that day underground. “Would you have believed me?”

Yuya huffs - a sound caught between a laugh and sob - and she holds him and lets him cry for the lives that were lost to ensure his safety.

 

**ix.**

Yuya hasn’t moved from the couch.

As long as he remains willing to eat, she’ll let him be, give him the time and space he needs to grieve. If his lack of reactions to open air can be trusted, the other three came to the same conclusion.

Yuya will reach out for them again when he’s ready, when he can reconcile the past and their deception. Yuya will let them know when he needs them. He always does.

Those four boys have always needed each other.

(Ironic, isn’t it, that they’ll never be apart.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And that’s all she wrote. For now. I wouldn’t mind expanding this once I know more about the manga’s overall plot, but seeing as we get one chapter a month, that’s gonna be slow going.
> 
> As always, please let me know your thoughts, comments, ideas. I love discussing fictional works and headcanons. =D


End file.
